Setting up Google Places for your Business

Google is one big monster you don’t want to mess with. Everything that Google introduces, you take it, without batting an eyelid. If it is not meant to help you, then it is for your business but there is always something for everyone and Google Places is one such little thing that your business must never miss.

Any brick-and-mortar business, small or big, must be listed on Google Places; no questions asked. It is a free tool that enables local search thus, positioning your business as a leader in that location. This is your baby step to being found locally or setting up an online presence.

Listing your business on Google Places is incredible easy.

Visit the link to Google Places and register your business with basic information.

You can continue to fill information about your business such as Adwords , description, contact information, hours of working and even placing yourself correctly on Google maps and so on. It also allows you to add pictures of your store or products and even high quality videos. All this will only help you optimize your listing and the right use of keywords and relevant information can put you at the top of a relevant search.

If your business has already been listed on Google Places, the right thing to do is claim it, verify it and optimize it with adding relevant information.

Sooner or later, you will have to verify your business by mail to ensure the right people are editing the information and the business is located where you say it really is.

Consider this, if you have a listing that is optimized and pops up when a user is searching for a business similar to yours, he/she is likely to choose you. You buy what you see, right? This is your official listing, on the internet.

Since a listing on Google Places is free and easy to set up, it is quite baffling as to why any business would ignore it. For small businesses, it is their ticket to go online and reach millions of users without having to spend a dime. Once verified, your listing will appear as you would like to and you can edit the information anytime you want. An updated listing is more likely to get viewed than an outdated one. The listing also let’s user write reviews about your business thus, helping you promote your business or at least help you improve user experience.

Google also offers statistics, so you can track the number of visitors to your listing, views and clicks.

There is no basic or premium plan with Google Places, it’s all premium and it’s all free and it’s all there for everyone to see. It is just how you’d like people to see your business and how willing are you to open this plethora for your business with nothing but 5 or may be 10 minutes of your time to invest. Believe it or not, small businesses are dependent on Google for traffic and brand visibility and you definitely do not want to miss this free ride.